Wake up call on devolution

FOR David Cameron’s Big Society, read Ed Miliband’s people-powered public services. Labour’s latest policy push proves once again that the party’s leader has a keen eye for the populist soundbite.

The Doncaster North MP made a decent amount of political capital from his vow that a Labour government would freeze energy prices, a pledge that tapped into collective anger over rising utility bills – despite the almost complete absence of a coherent explanation as to exactly how it would be implemented.

Now, with his discourse on the need to give people greater control over their own lives, from ousting failing headteachers to empowering NHS users, he is attempting to beat the Conservatives at their own game.

Of course, while this is what many voters want to hear, it would be far more credible if it were not emanating from a party that did so much during its 13 years in power to increase the level of state interference in people’s lives.

The proliferation of unnecessary and costly bureaucracy under Labour meant that the coalition not only inherited a crippling fiscal deficit but a state sector dominated by sprawling managerial hierarchies that incorporated a small army of professional quangocrats.

It is this apparatus – propped up by taxpayers – that the coalition has sought to dismantle.

Nevertheless, there are areas where Mr Miliband’s proposals should give David Cameron pause for thought, in particular his pledge to spread more powers beyond Whitehall.

Having given its initial backing to Lord Heseltine’s much acclaimed No Stone Unturned review which called for far greater devolution of government spending to regions such as Yorkshire as a means to trigger growth, the Tory-led coalition has failed to follow through.

The single growth fund made available to local enterprise partnerships was a fraction of that recommended by Lord Heseltine and there is a 
sense that the Tory leadership fails to grasp the scale of the appetite, particularly in this region, for empowering councils, business leaders and local people in order to deliver genuine democracy.

While some may think it carries the whiff of opportunism born of the lack of pressure on the party of opposition to deliver, Mr Miliband’s repositioning of Labour’s stance on the role of the Government and instruments of state is nevertheless a shot across the bows that Mr Cameron would do well to heed.

Root and branch

Bank reforms do not go far enough

THE stereotype that those who work in the financial services sector are amoral individuals only too happy to take inordinate risks with other people’s money simply to secure their next bonus ignores the fact that many work long hours for far less than stories of wall-to-wall six-figure salaries would suggest.

Nevertheless, the credit crunch exposed deeply worrying practices that not only contributed to both the depth and length of the ensuing crisis but also undermined public confidence in the industry as a whole.

It is why the determination of Sir Richard Lambert, the former director-general of the CBI, that banking must now strive to become a profession that operates to the same standards as accountancy or law is to be welcomed.

His consultation paper on banking reform calls for a a new body to oversee the industry, with an over-riding priority to act in the public interest. Another proposal would see a helpline set up to advise whistleblowers and employees seeking ethical advice.

Yet doubts must remain as to just how successful these reforms can be in ridding the industry of the bad apples, sharp practices and downright fraudulent activities that were exposed by the financial crash.

That is because the organisation will put the focus on the banks to do what is right, issuing guiding principles to the industry and only stepping in once a complaint has been made. There will not, for instance, be the option of striking off a banker from the industry, even if wrongdoing can be proven.

Many will think, quite rightly, that the industry can and must do more if trust is to be restored and customers convinced that their interests – and those of the recovery – are being put before short-term profit.

Top of the hops

Volunteers to ensure safe passage

TOAD numbers are declining, largely due to the effect of road traffic during the breeding season. It is estimated that 20 tons of toads are killed on the UK’s roads each year.

It is why the call has gone out for more volunteers to help mount what is now an annual operation to help toads make safe passage to their breeding grounds on the western edge of the North York Moors National Park.

Common toads, currently hibernating on the moorland surrounding Cod Beck Reservoir, will soon begin to make their annual journey to the water to spawn.

But to get there, they must cross the road that runs alongside the reservoir, running the risk of being squashed.

Last year saw nearly 2,000 toads arrive safely at their destination and it is to be hoped the volunteers enjoy similar success this year.

They are certainly helping these particular toads out of a hole.